_________________Did you notice the slight feeling of panic at the words "Chicken Basin Street"? Like someone was walking over your grave? Try not to remember. We must never remember. - mumblesIs this about devilberries and nazifruit again? - footface

Our cat beats on the window and the bedroom door for hours in the morning until one of us wakes up to feed her. She used to go to the window to go outside, but now that the snow is as tall as she is, she uses her window drum to alert us to everything: hunger, sadness, ambivalence...

We are catsitting S's parents' cat for a while and the cats are getting along pretty well. However, today we noticed that my cat now just reeks. It seems that he has been going into Jack's litter box and possibly eating shiitake. He also wants to just go in and hang out (it is one of the ones with a little lid/cover on it). Any thoughts on correcting this behavior? And should I try bathing him? He smells so bad...

_________________"I think I am going to turn into a chickpea." ~DakiniLove is like a pineapple, sweet and undefinable~ Piet Hein

It could be that he's kinda stressed out by the extra animals. In my experience, a cat hanging out in a litter box is usually a stressed or sick cat. I don't know why, but the box can be like a safe space.

_________________Ridiculous people on the internet are consistently ridiculous. -pandacookie

My hand is all cut up because my cat decided this morning she wanted to attack it while I was petting her. When I tried to pull it away she just attacked me more, so I just left my hand where it was so she could gnaw on it.

_________________I like my bagels like I like my men - big and covered with earth balance & nooch. - Bunniee

Any suggestions for awesome interactive toys? Frisbee is constantly getting into the shelves and knocking shiitake down. He has awesome perches in the windows, multiple cubbies to climb in, and I think we're going to build some sort of kitty city soon. He doesn't seem to love his toys as much anymore. In our old place we could wear him out with string toys getting him to leap into the air but here we have concrete floors and he doesn't like to jump like that anymore. He has little mice and balls galore but they get lost about ten minutes after we leave for work. I was looking at some of the peek-a-prize type toys or the tracks with a ball inside that they bat around. Anyone have stuff like that? Do cats really like them?

I have one of the track with a ball in it things. One of my cats has never had any interest in it. The other is very sporadic. Sometimes he goes absolutely nuts over it, but then he'll ignore it for weeks. That's about all I've got. For my two, the best toys are each other.

_________________Ridiculous people on the internet are consistently ridiculous. -pandacookie

This is what I'm ultimately going for. I think he'd really like a friend and we travel a few times a year and I feel so bad leaving him. We used to have friends who would chill with him for a couple hours a day but I don't know if our friends who watch him now when we're gone would be as diligent and he's really social and active. I'm hoping when we get back from a trip back to my parents this spring we can really talk about it.

This is what I'm ultimately going for. I think he'd really like a friend and we travel a few times a year and I feel so bad leaving him. We used to have friends who would chill with him for a couple hours a day but I don't know if our friends who watch him now when we're gone would be as diligent and he's really social and active. I'm hoping when we get back from a trip back to my parents this spring we can really talk about it.

When I got Desi (as a 2-year old from the shelter), I only planned to have the one cat. But it only took about a month to realize that he really needed/wanted a playmate. Conveniently, a friend of mine had a 6-week-old kitten who needed a home, so Lucas joined us shortly after that. They've been besties every since! Other than poop output, it's really not much more responsibility, and the boys are happier.

_________________Ridiculous people on the internet are consistently ridiculous. -pandacookie

Leonard Cohen is being such a jerk these days (and not living up to her namesake!). I've actually had to sleep on a yoga mat in the hallway twice because the cats can't come in our bedroom (Jay's allergies), but they Lenny loses her shiitake all night long and eats and knocks over plants, knocks everything off the kitchen table/counters, meows and scratches, cries, runs back and forth like a maniac, attack poor Puddy who's just trying to sleep like the angel kitty she is, and won't even stop with the crying for Jay when I get up for her. She's also decided she hates me, probably because I say mean things about her on the internet, but I am not ashamed that I am playing favourites and Puddy>Lenny by far.

Really though, I need to get to the bottom why she is being so awful to me when I shower her with love. I miss little Lenny snuggles! I think she has decided that Jay is the strongest and the alpha and me and Puddy are just annoying siblings. Cats are mean!

What he knocked down was probably too big to tack down, but maybe I could do that with some smaller things. After yesterdays episode it inspired Nick to start building a trophy case with plexi doors that we'll anchor to the wall. He's been such a shiitake this morning that I'll holding him and typing one-handed. He hates being held but it's the only way I get cuddles and things don't get broken. Eventually he usually relaxes and enjoys it.

Hester is - thankfully - generally not a very naughty cat, largely because she's quite sedentary and also admittedly not very clever (poor thing). But she does have a bad habit of deciding that breakfast should be served pre-dawn if possible. She set a new record today by waking me up at 3:30am today. She's always very gentle about it - lightly taps the side of my face, sticks her face in my face (tickling me with her whiskers), then climbs up on my side. It's quite cute, and since she's not usually into sitting on me (she likes her space), it's sort of endearing. The only problem is that at the slightest sleepy stir from me, she launches herself off me excitedly thinking that I'm going to get up and feed her. And then seconds later climbs back on. And the cycle repeats.I dozed for an hour before I gave in and got up to feed her. Ugh. At least I managed to go back to sleep after that.

_________________If I chew on garlic that's been in a vagina, isn't that exploiting SOMEONE? - coldandsleepyAfter all, you can't spell Richard Dawkins without "dickwad". - EmperorTomatoKetchup